Wedging device for a tightening system and an article of clothing incorporating such device

ABSTRACT

A wedging device for a tightening system adapted to equip a clothing article, and in particular a footwear. This wedging device enables an easy loosening of the tightening linkage that passes through said device. To achieve this result, the wedging device includes a main body including the functions of sliding and blocking the tightening linkage, and a rigid tongue which extends the main body and extends substantially in the direction of the wedging slit toward the sliding opening.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is based upon French Patent Application No. 0009799, filed Jul. 21, 2000, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference thereto in its entirety, and the priority ofwhich is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. §119.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a wedging device for atightening system, using a linkage such as a lace, adapted to equip aclothing article, in particular an article of footwear, such as a shoeor boot. This article of footwear is adapted in particular, but in anon-limiting fashion, to the practice of sports, such as walking orrunning shoes, but also for leisure and relaxation, such as sandals.

[0004] 2. Description of Background and Relevant Information

[0005] In the prior art, there are shoelace guides which combine thefunction of sliding the lace, in order to ensure the tensioning of thelace, as well as a function of wedging the lace in a slit formaintaining the tightening tension in the lace. The documents U.S. Pat.No. 1,434,723 and CH 241 891 describe eyelets for the passage of a lace,which integrate into the usual circular shape, a slit in which the laceis wedged. The documents FR 2 586 343 and WO 89/00387 describe identicalfunctions, but which are combined in a main body that is then attachedon the boot upper, in particular by a sewing process. The lace guide isthen reduced to the minimum surface to ensure these functions and itsattachment to the boot upper.

[0006] However, all of the previously described systems rely on therigidity of the upper with which they are associated in order for thefunction of unlocking the lace to be properly carried out in the wedgingsystems. Indeed, if the upper is slightly flexible, the movement forloosening the lace, which moves the lace downwardly, will deform theupper instead of sliding the lace in the slit toward the eyelet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] One of the objects of the invention is therefore to propose awedging device for a system for tightening a clothing article, inparticular an article of footwear, which has an easy release of thedevice, irrespective of the envelope of the clothing or footwear articlewith which it is associated.

[0008] To achieve these objects, the wedging device includes a mainbody, which includes a sliding opening connected to a wedging opening,which main body is extended beyond the wedging opening by a rigidtongue. This rigid tongue extends substantially in the direction of thewedging slit and in the direction of the wedging slit toward the slidingopening.

[0009] In a first embodiment, the wedging device is firmly fixed to theenvelope of the clothing article.

[0010] In a second embodiment, the wedging device is fixed to theenvelope of the clothing article so that it can partially move away theenvelope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] The invention will be better understood, and other advantagesthereof will become apparent from the description that follows, withreference to the annexed drawings. The description illustrates, by wayof non-limiting examples, certain preferred embodiments.

[0012]FIG. 1 schematically shows a side view of a shoe equipped with thewedging device according to the first embodiment.

[0013]FIGS. 2 and 2a schematically show a perspective side view of thewedging device according to the first and second embodiments.

[0014]FIG. 3 schematically shows a perspective side view of the upper ofa shoe equipped with the wedging device according to the secondembodiment. The upper is exploded in cross section for more clarity.

[0015]FIG. 4 schematically shows a perspective side view of the shoeupper equipped with the wedging device according to a first variation ofthe second embodiment. The upper is exploded in cross section for moreclarity.

[0016]FIG. 5 schematically shows a perspective side view of the shoeupper equipped with the wedging device according to a second variationof the second embodiment. The upper is exploded in cross section formore clarity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] In FIG. 1, the clothing article shown is an article of footwearCH constituted here, but in a non-limiting fashion, of a low uppersports shoe. The shoe CH is equipped with a tightening system 101 thatbrings closer together at least two portions of the envelope O of theclothing article. In the present case, the envelope of the shoe CH isthe upper O that overlays a sole 110.

[0018] The tightening system 101 includes a tightening linkage 100, suchas a lace or a string, which passes in guides 30 arranged on each of thelateral and medial surfaces of the upper O, and are arranged, forexample, in a substantially symmetrical fashion.

[0019] The tightening system 101 is blocked, preferably at one of itsends 101 a, by a blocking mechanism, such as a lacing knot, or ablocking element (not shown). However, when implementing the blockingmechanism, the user must loosen the tightening linkage 100, evenlocally, thereby causing a loss of tension in the tightening linkage100. This shows the advantage of positioning on the shoe CH a wedgingdevice 111 that prevents a decrease of tension in the linkage 110,without any specific manipulation. This wedging device 111 isadvantageously arranged at the end 101 a of the tightening system 101,and preferably between the blocking mechanism and the last guide 30 thatis positioned at the same end 101 a of the tightening system 101.

[0020] In the illustrated embodiment at issue, the wedging device 111 isfirmly fixed to the upper O of the footwear CH. The constituent elementsof the wedging element 111, namely, a main body 10 and a rigid tongue 3,include fixing assembly 12, 13, such as stitchings, which are adapted tofix the elements 10, 3, respectively, to the upper O, and more generallyto the envelope of the clothing article.

[0021] During the phase of tensioning the tightening system 101, theuser pulls the two strands of the tightening linkage 100 upwardly, andby moving away from the axial plane formed by the leg and the foot. Theouter portion 100 b of the tightening linkage 100, comprised between thewedging device 111 and the zone for gripping with the user's hand, istherefore advantageously positioned outside the upper O. Conversely, thetightening linkage 100 therefore includes an inner portion 100 a thatpasses at least partially in the upper O, in the direction of the guidesof the tightening device 101.

[0022] In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the upper O includes a channel 31that opens out on the wedging device 111. The channel 31 is obtained byan upper reinforcement 32, which is fixed outside the upper O byappropriate means such as stitching 33. This stitching 33 has aninterruption 34 which makes it possible to free a passage for thetightening linkage 100 between the upper O and the upper reinforcement32.

[0023]FIG. 2 shows the wedging device 111 and, in broken lines, thetightening linkage 100 in various positions of use. The inner portion100 a of the tightening linkage 100 comes from the guides of thetightening device and passes through the wedging device 111.

[0024] When one wishes to tension the tightening linkage 100, the latteris placed in a low position designated by the reference numeral 100 d.The tensioning is then made possible, because the tightening linkage 100passes in the wedging element 111, in the area of a sliding opening 1that pierces the main body 10 of the wedging device 111. This slidingopening 1 advantageously has a cylindrical shape whose diameter issubstantially equal to, or even slightly greater than the diameter ofthe tightening linkage 100.

[0025] During the blocking phase, the tightening linkage 100 is placedin a high position designated by the reference numeral 100 c. Thetightening linkage 100 engages in a wedging slit 2 whose width is lessthan the diameter of the sliding opening 1, making it possible tomaintain, by wedging, the tension in the tightening linkage 100. Thewedging slit 2, which extends through the main body 10, and which isconnected to the sliding opening 1, has a width that is greater than orequal to the diameter of the linkage 100.

[0026] Moreover, the main body 10 advantageously has an extra thicknesszone 35 positioned substantially around the sliding opening 1 and thewedging slit 2. The extra thickness 35 is substantially equal to thethickness of the stiffener of the upper shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore,the stiffener of the upper has a recess that is complementary of theextra thickness zone 35. Respecting this constructional arrangementmakes it possible to obtain a continuity of the outer surface of theupper stiffener, and also makes it possible to move the upper away fromthe sliding opening 1 and from the wedging slit 2, so that the frictionof the tightening linkage 100 does not deteriorate the constituentmaterial of the upper and/or upper stiffener.

[0027] The main body 10, which includes the sliding opening 1 and thewedging slit 2, is extended by a rigid tongue 3 that extendssubstantially in the direction X of the wedging slit 2, beyond thesliding opening 1, and in the direction of the wedging slit 2 toward thesliding opening 1. The advantages of this rigid tongue 3 will becomeapparent subsequently.

[0028]FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 show the envelope O of the clothing article,which has been sectioned for an easier understanding, according tovarious alternatives of the second embodiment in which the envelope Oincludes a lug 5 that is fixed, at least at its base 20, to the envelopeO.

[0029] In FIG. 3, the rigid tongue 3 is fixed to the lug 5 by at leastone transverse seam 4 that fixes the wedging device 111 to the envelopeO. The transverse seam 4 maintains the wedging device 111 insertedbetween the envelope O and the lug 5. In the preferred embodimentcurrently shown, the transverse seam 4 is positioned in the vicinity ofthe sliding opening 1, and is preferably positioned substantiallyhalf-way between the upper end 2 a of the wedging slit 2 and the lowerend 3 a of the rigid tongue 3. This transverse seam 4 makes it possibleto fix the base 20 of the lug 5 to the envelope O and, thus, due to itsposition, to define a portion 111 a of the wedging device 111 that canmove away from the envelope O, as well as a portion 111 b which enclosesthe rigid tongue 3 at least partially, and which is fixed on theenvelope O. The spacing of the portion 111 a depends directly on thedeformation in bending of the rigid tongue 3.

[0030] During the loosening movement, the tightening linkage must slidefrom the upper end 2 a of the wedging slit 2 toward the sliding opening1. So that this sliding can occur, the user exerts a downward force onthe tightening linkage which must remain tensioned. Moreover,maintaining tension in the tightening linkage causes a deformation ofthe wedging device 111 toward the outside of the foot, which results inthe partial spacing in relation to the envelope O, as shown in FIG. 3.Thus, the downward force applied by the user causes the tighteninglinkage to slide, because the relative rigidity of the constituentmaterial of the wedging device 111 avoids the deformations by bucklingand compression, substantially along the direction of the sliding slit 2in the position deformed by spacing.

[0031] The present wedging device therefore optimizes the loosening,irrespective of the rigidity of the envelope. The best results in termsof comfort and performance are obtained for a rigid tongue 3 of about1-2 millimeters thick along a length of about 7-20 millimeters, made ofa thermoplastic material, including in particular, but in a non-limitingfashion, polyamide, polyethylene, or acetal.

[0032] This example is provided for guidance only and is not limiting,because, for a given material, one can generally determine alength/thickness geometric combination making it possible to obtain thedesired flexibility.

[0033]FIG. 4 shows a variation of the embodiment shown previously, inwhich the lug 5 is integrated into the wedging device 111. The wedgingdevice 111 is fixed to the upper O, in the area of the rigid tongue 3,by at least one transverse stitched seam 4, in the vicinity of theportion 111 a of the device that can move away from the upper O. Thewedging device 111 includes a bending zone 11 that is orientedtransversely and is positioned between the rigid tongue 3 and the mainbody 10. More specifically, the bending zone 11 is located between thesliding opening 1 and the transverse seam 4. The rigid tongue 3 can beadvantageously fixed to the envelope O by a complementary transverseseam 4′ that is located in the vicinity of the lower end 3 a of thetongue 3. The functioning of the wedging device 111 is similar to thatdescribed in FIG. 3. However, it makes it possible to break free fromthe choice of good material and good geometry to obtain the desiredflexibility. Indeed, the flexibility of the device is currently obtainedby the bending zone 11 which can be obtained by a bellows, inparticular.

[0034] In FIG. 5, the wedging element 111 is fixed on a lug 5 that isconnected, at least by its base 20, to the envelope O. Morespecifically, the rigid tongue 3 and the main body 10 are fixed to thelug 5 by appropriate means such as a stitched seam 36. To optimize theease of loosening the device by avoiding the buckling of the lug 5, thewedging device 111 extends advantageously over an area correspondingsubstantially to that of the lug 5. This result is also obtained if thestitching 4 is arranged substantially in the area of the lower end 3 aof the rigid tongue 3.

[0035] The present invention is not limited to the particularembodiments described hereinabove, which are provided for guidance only,but encompasses all similar or equivalent embodiments. The presentinvention also encompasses the tightening systems integrating a wedgingdevice consistent with the spirit of the invention.

[0036]FIG. 2a shows the wedging device 111 and specifies the length ofthe rigid tongue 3. The rigid tongue 3 extends over a length d, alongthe direction X of the sliding slit 2, which is greater than or equal tothe cumulated axial length D of the wedging slit 2 and of the slidingopening 1. The cumulated axial length D is defined as the sum of thelength of the wedging slit 2 and of the diameter of the sliding opening1. The best experimental results were obtained for a length of the rigidtongue 3 substantially equal to two and a half times the cumulated axiallength D.

[0037] However, the results are good starting with a cumulated axiallength D greater than one and a half times the cumulated axial width D.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wedging device for a system for tightening aclothing article, including footwear, said device comprising: a mainbody including a sliding opening connected to a wedging slit, saidwedging slit extending in a determinate direction, a tightening linkageadapted to tighten an envelope of the clothing article being adapted topass through said slit, said main body being extended, beyond saidsliding opening, by a rigid tongue, said rigid tongue extendingsubstantially in said determinate direction of said wedging slit, and insaid direction of said wedging slit toward said sliding opening.
 2. Awedging device according to claim 1, wherein said rigid tongue extendsover a length that is greater than or equal to a cumulated axial lengthof said wedging slit and said sliding opening.
 3. A wedging deviceaccording to claim, wherein said rigid tongue includes at least onetransverse stitched seam that fixes said wedging device to saidenvelope.
 4. A wedging device according to claim 3, wherein saidtransverse stitched seam is positioned in a vicinity of said slidingopening.
 5. A wedging device according to claim 3, wherein saidtransverse stitched seam is positioned substantially half-way between anupper end of said wedging slit and a lower end of said rigid tongue. 6.A wedging device according to claim 1, wherein said envelope includes alug that is fixed, at least by a base of said lug, to said envelope, andwherein said main body and said rigid tongue are fixed on said lug.
 7. Awedging device according to claim 1, further including a transverselyoriented bending zone positioned between said rigid tongue and said mainbody.
 8. A wedging device according to claim 3, wherein said bendingzone is located between said sliding opening and said transversestitched seam.
 9. A wedging device according to claim 7, wherein saidbending zone is located between said sliding opening and said transversestitched seam.
 10. A wedging device according to claim 1, wherein saidmain body and said rigid tongue include a fixing assembly adapted to fixsaid main body and said rigid tongue to said envelope.
 11. An article ofclothing incorporated at least one wedging device according to claim 1.